


Welcome to the Fallout, Welcome to Resistance

by melancholie



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Enemies to Lovers, Nonbinary Character, Other, Rating May Change, White Fang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-16 22:04:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13063077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melancholie/pseuds/melancholie
Summary: An AU starting just before RWBY and friends would have been starting at Beacon. The White Fang has just staged a massive coup, simultaneously taking down the military and government forces of all of Remnant. However, control slipped from their grasp, throwing all of Remnant into utter chaos.





	1. Edelweiss

**Author's Note:**

> Please note the rating will change later on
> 
> Series title is a line from "I Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot
> 
> Chapter title "Edelweiss" from Sound of Music
> 
> Blake is nonbinary, they/them pronouns

The light of the campfire’s flames played across Blake’s face as they stared into its depths. Their mind drifted away, filtering through layers of questions without answers and jumbled memories that took them far from the darkened woods. Their ears were keeping guard, perked up and alert and in the quiet clearing, and it took only a moment for the snap of a branch to call their attention. 

Blake was on their feet in a moment, turning around just in time to see a flash of white disappear behind a tree. They pulled Gambol Shroud from their back without hesitation. “Who’s there?” Only silence answered, not that they’d really expected anything else.

They took slow, measured steps forward, ears turned to the side and blade held at the ready. It could be anyone, anything really. This was essentially undeclared territory at this point. After Atlas had fallen, the new White Fang had taken over most of the inner city, but the outskirts were filled with scattered militia groups - and of course the occasional Grimm. 

Ears flicked forward at the sudden sound of running footsteps hidden within the trees before their attention was pulled upward to a spinning silver disk hanging in the air above. The swirl of a white figure spun over their head, bounced from the disk and landed in the center of the clearing. Surprise only gave them a momentary pause before they vanished into the trees behind her. 

A shadow form stayed in the clearing distracting the girl and leaving Blake free to come up behind her, pulling her arms tight behind her back and knocking the rapier from her hand with a jab of their knee. “Who. Are. You.”

She didn’t answer and Blake turned her around shoving her back against a tree to keep control, other hand still holding tight to Gambol Shroud. Upon seeing the girl’s face, shock and recognition almost unsteadied their hold. “Little Heiress,” they said, raising an eyebrow, “And what are you doing here?”

“I prefer Weiss, actually,” she snapped, shoving Blake off her. They took a step back, not bothering to resist, but they kept the blade ready at their side. Weiss swiped her fallen weapon from the ground and brushed dirt from her skirt. “I’m somewhat insulted that you suddenly seem much less threatened.”

Blake snorted. “The younger Schnee daughter? I am much less threatened.” A scowl crossed Weiss’s face.

“Then put that away.” She nodded towards Blake’s right hand, still at the ready and their eyes looked her up and down, studying her.

“You first.”

Weiss contemplated for a moment before sheathing the blade. “Fine.”

With a nod, Blake returned Gambol Shroud to their back and crossed their arms over their chest. “So I ask again - what are you doing here? I can’t imagine your father would want his precious snowflake out here by herself.”

“Don’t call me that. My name is Weiss. Not ‘princess’ or ‘heiress’ or ‘special snowflake’. And my father is dead.”

That stopped Blake’s thoughts dead in their tracks. “What?”

“Call me Weiss. And my father’s dead.” 

Blake’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not possible.”

“How is that not possible? The White Fang took down all of Remnant in one fell swoop and you don’t think they could manage to assassinate the head of the Schnee corporation as well? It seems perfectly reasonable that they’d want it to go down just as much as the rest of Remnant.”

“No, that’s not why…I would have known if that was…”

Realization flashed across Weiss’s face and she took several steps back, redrawing her weapon and pointing it at Blake. “You’re White Fang.” It wasn’t a question.

Blake reached back, putting a hand back on Gambol Shroud but not pulling it off yet. “No.” Weiss’s glare made it clear that she didn’t believe them. Blake sighed, “I was, okay? I left, in the split. I’m not with either side any more.”

“You were though. You must have been high up too, if you think that you should have known about any plans to come after my father. You’re part of the reason this happened.” Weiss face was contorted in anger as she spat the words at Blake. 

“I…worked alongside someone who made the calls. I didn’t make them.”

“But you supported them.”

“I did. Up to a point. And then I left, like a lot of other people.”

“You left too late. The damage was already done.” Anger and a bit of pain twisted Blake’s features before they could compose themselves again. 

“It was a mess. Things got out of hand so, so quickly. You can’t know what it was like if you weren’t there. But it’s why I’m here now, I’m trying to fix things as best as I can.” 

That seemed to calm Weiss, at least a little bit. “So you’re joining up with the militia groups then?”

“Are you serious?” Blake scoffed, “Of course not. Just because I don’t agree with the destruction the new White Fang brought upon Remnant doesn’t mean I didn’t think things needed to change. That's why I went with it for as long as I did. The militias just want things to go back to the way they were. I have no intention of being a part of that.” 

Weiss straightened, eyes narrowing at Blake’s words. “Well I do. You’re wrong. You need the kingdoms and the militaries to be safe. You’ll figure that out sooner or later. Come with me, I’m joining a group in Atlas. You can be a part of it and help make whatever changes you think need to be made. 

Blake rolled their eyes. “You live in a fantasy world, Weiss Schnee. Anything the militias rebuild will be the same as before, it’ll just benefit the humans and the wealthy. For people like me, the Faunus? Yeah, nothing will change. We’ll still be exploited, by companies like your family's in particular. Still refused service. Still harassed. I’m not fighting for more of that.” They sighed and shook their head. “Look, just leave. Go find your people or whatever, I don’t even know why weren’t talking.”

“Fine,” Weiss huffed, “I will.” And with that she turned on her heel and stormed back into the trees.

******

The roaring growl woke Blake in an instant, far too familiar for comfort. The responding shriek wasn’t nearly as well known, but they had certainly heard it before.

“Weiss Schnee, I swear to the maidens,” they muttered under their breath as before taking off running towards the commotion. 

Moonlight filtered down through a small break in the forest, revealing Weiss on her back on the ground, an Ursa lurking over her its vicious red eyes glinting. She must have fallen, her rapier out of reach to her side and scrape down the front of her leg. 

Blake was hidden in the shadows and they took advantage of that fact. Tossing Gambol Shroud up into the trees above the monsters head distracted it from Weiss, but before it could refocus its attention on Blake they were following the path of the black ribbon up into the air. It had looped itself around a branch, giving Blake leverage to swing themselves up onto the Grimm’s back. The monster roared at the contact and tried to fling them off, its stamping feet almost crushing Weiss in the process, but she scrambled away to reclaim her own weapon. 

With a sharp tug of the ribbon, Gambol shroud was back in Blake’s hands. Keeping balance on the enraged Ursa proved far more difficult than anticipated - at least until Weiss stabbed her rapier into its foot, partially pinning it to the ground. In spite of themselves, Blake smiled at her efforts before thrusting Gambol Shroud’s blade into the back of its skull. It vanished in its usual puff of smoke, sending Blake tumbling to the ground where they landed on all fours next to Weiss. 

“God, have you ever fought before?” they asked, climbing back to their feet and returning Gambol Shroud to its backplate. The smile was gone and they gave Weiss a withering look. 

“That’s incredibly rude, of course I have!” she snapped, “I’ve had fantastic training.”

“I’m sure. With a private trainer in a fancy indoor practice room.”

“I -” Weiss bit back her retort. “That doesn’t change anything. It was still good training.”

“Have you actually fought a Grimm before now?”

“Yes. The Schnees have a fantastic hereditary semblance. We can create glyphs of anything, my sister made them of Grimm for me to practice with.”

That actually made Blake laugh out loud. “You’re kidding me right? You don’t actually think your pretty glow figures are anything like the real thing? Shouldn’t what just happened have shown you that?”

Weiss bristled. “What and you think you’re so high and mighty? I’m sure you never had any formal training.”

“Yeah, I actually lived in the real world. You probably shouldn’t criticize my education considering it just saved your life.”

“I would have been fine!” Blake raised an eyebrow at that and Weiss took a deep breath, clearly holding back a continuation of that retort. “You’re right. Thank you for intervening. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes I did,” Blake paused for a moment, contemplating their words. “You’re going to get yourself killed out here. Just come with me.”

“A few hours ago you told me to leave.”

“A few hours ago I thought you’d be fine if you did.”

“So? Why do you care?”

“Because I’m not like you. I don’t just turn the other cheek and let people die.”

Anger flashed across Weiss’s face. “How dare you! I do not - It’s people like you, beliefs like that that are the reason Remnant is in this mess!”

“I do change my mind though.” 

Weiss exhaled sharply. “Fine.”

“I’m not taking you to the militia groups though. If that’s what you want then you can figure it out yourself. I’m going to Vale. If we meet another group on the way and you want to leave, that’s your choice but I’m not helping you to do that.”

“Fine.”

Blake snapped Gambol Shroud to the plate on their back and turned towards the campsite. “It’s going to be daybreak soon. We should get going.”


	2. Pick Me Up and Throw Me Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a line from "Heretic Pride" by the Mountain Goats

The blade of Blake’s weapon connected with Myrtenaster again, the clang reverberating out through the pines. They’d been practicing sparring ever since camp had been made in the late afternoon and the light was already fading as the sun began to dip towards the horizon. A twist of Blake’s wrist attempted to fling the rapier from her hand but she avoided it with ease, stepping back and returning to her original stance. 

“You’re not actually bad at all, you just need to learn how to apply theory to practice,” they commented, straightening up and letting their arm fall back to their side. 

“Is that a compliment?”

Blake’s mouth turned up at the corner, the closest thing to a smile Weiss had seen from them. “Closest thing you’re going to get, princess.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“Win this last round and I promise to stop.”

“Deal.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Weiss leapt forward but it was a move Blake had clearly seen coming and when the tip of her blade lightly tapped their chest, they vanished in a swirl of smoke. A laugh signaled the presence of their true form behind he and she was facing them again in an instant, Myrtenaster at the ready. A silvery disk of Aura appeared before her and she stepped onto it in a graceful bounce that propelled her up and over the several yards between them. 

The moment she landed Blake struck out and their two blades connected a final time. Weiss leaned into the momentum with a spin that let her hook a foot behind Blake’s ankle. At the same time, she swung her arm out in a motion caught their wrist and the blade far out to the side. Blake landed flat on their back but they managed to take her with them. Still, she retained the upper hand and pinned to them to the ground, one hand on their right shoulder, the other pressing Myrtenaster lightly to their throat. 

Her sharp chin tilted up in satisfaction. “So?”

“Alright, Weiss,” Blake laughed, “You win. I promise to never call you ‘princess’ again.” 

“Good,” she said, removing the blade and sitting back.

Blake raised a brow, “You going to get off me?”

She blushed immediately and shifted from her position straddling Blake’s hips. “Right, sorry.” They didn’t comment further, just sat up and brushed the dirt from their hands before retrieving their weapon. She gave it a nod. “What’s it called?”

“Gambol Shroud. And yours?”

“Myrtenaster.”

“It’s a beautiful weapon.”

“Thanks, it’s been in my family for generations.” She sheathed it and settled down cross-legged near their packs. “Where’d yours come from?”

Blake joined her and began to fiddle with the matches to start a fire. “I kind of made it, actually. It was originally three different weapons that I put together. Making our own weapons...it was what the kids in the White Fang did before we got old enough to really participate in other activities.” The final sentence came with hesitation, their first real acknowledgement of the previous allegiance. 

“Well, that’s very impressive, you did a fine job.”

“Thank you.” 

“I’d love to try to try to fashion one myself, but I love Myrtenaster too much to give it up. Even if I didn’t there’s plenty of others I could choose from the family, aside from Winter’s and mine there’s a good caseful back in Atlas.”

Blake’s studied her for a moment before replying, “Where is Winter, by the way? I know you said your father died....Is she…?”

“Oh, no,” Weiss said, with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Winter is fine. Our father was separated from us when the White Fang attacked. We were trapped after a dust bomb blew and he was in a room next door.” Weiss paused, questioning how much of the story Blake would actually want to hear, but they didn’t say anything so she continued. “They were torturing him off and on for a couple days, we could hear the screaming. Winter didn’t want them to know we were there so we couldn’t do anything to get out, it’d make too much noise. Ultimately, we heard his final scream and the following silence; it was pretty clear what had happened. After that Winter simply conjured a glyph to break through the wall and we fled.”

Weiss clamped her mouth shut, suddenly realizing how much had just spilled out of her mouth, but Blake didn’t seem to mind. They were looking at her differently than they had up until that point, as if what she had just said had altered their opinion of her ever so slightly.

“I’m sorry. As much as I disagree with that your father has done, I can’t abide with that kind of cruelty. Losing my father...I don’t even want to imagine.” They paused, studying her. “You seem remarkably calm about it, though. Are you okay?” 

It wasn’t a question Weiss had an easy answer to. Too much had happened since for her to dwell on it much and the feelings she had acknowledged were muddled at best. “It’s fine. Well, maybe I just haven’t fully accepted it yet, but really I think it’s fine. It’s not like he was ever really present in my life, at least not in a positive way. He could be...unkind, to say the least. My grandparents were much closer to being parental figures than my mother and father ever were.”

“Where are they?”

She shook her head. “They’re gone, both passed away before I was seven.” The words caught in her throat for a moment before she hurried on. “But it’s okay, I had Winter. She always looked out for me.”

“I’m surprised she let you go out on your own. That doesn’t sound much like the controlling military leader I’ve heard about.”

Weiss laughed. It wasn’t really all that funny, but it cleared her thoughts and that alone was a relief. “Oh, she certainly did not let me go. I gave her the slip. We had camped out, I waited for her to fall asleep and then I just ran.”

“Why? Wouldn’t you have been safer with her and whatever is left of her military connections?”

She shrugged. “I suppose, but we weren’t going to stay in Atlas. She wanted to join up with some of the militia groups gathered there, but since I was with her she didn’t. I told her I wanted to go with her, do what I could to help, but she refused, said it was too dangerous. She was always protective, never thought I could do much of anything. There’s a reason I never fought a real Grimm.” 

“Where was she going to take you then?”

“Mistral. She said it was the closest thing to neutral ground there is right now. Whatever that means anymore.”

“That’s probably true. You’re right, though, it doesn’t mean much.”

“Yes. I couldn’t go, though. I couldn’t just sit there, hiding out, doing nothing, preventing Winter from doing what she wanted to do. I knew if I vanished she wouldn’t try all that hard to find me before returning to Atlas. I figured I could join up with another group, maybe in Vale. They’re so disconnected she probably wouldn’t be able to find me, at least for a little while. ” 

Blake’s eyes narrowed at her mention of the militias. “That’s still your plan, I assume?”

She hesitated. “I suppose so...but I’m starting to have questions.”

“Such as?”

“I’m just not so sure of the truth anymore. So much of what my father told me was clearly wrong - and there’s a lot that he simply didn’t tell me at all. So I really have to ask myself if I’d be acting on faulty assumptions.”

Blake sighed, golden eyes catching hers with an unbreakable intensity. “You know my opinion on that.”

“Yes,” she paused to consider her words, “but I don’t know that I can entirely agree with how your side is handling things either. How do you know you’re acting on good information?”

They closed their eyes and let out a heavy breath before replying. “You’re not wrong. The man I worked with - Adam - I assumed that he was honest, trustworthy, that he told me everything I needed to know. He always said that we were in it together, that I was his partner and confidant. But it’s quickly becoming clear that there’s a lot he hid from me. He never mentioned going after your family, for one. Maybe he knew I wouldn’t approve. That’d been my project for awhile; I wanted to work from the inside and he thought that was foolish. I think he was tired of arguing with me about it so he just…did what he wanted.”

Something dark passed through Blake’s eyes and they pressed their lips tight together; Weiss knew better than to question it. “That’s why you recognized my name, isn’t it? Because you’d been focusing on the Schnee company?”

“Yes.”

“Why us?”

Blake scoffed. “You mean aside from the fact that it has practically enslaved the entire faunus population?”

“No-” Weiss bit her tongue. “I just mean, from what you said it seems like it wasn’t really Adam’s priority, so why was it yours?”

The faunus sighed, golden eyes staring into the smoldering embers of the fire. “My best friend’s parents were killed in an accident at one of your mines. Your people couldn’t care less. She was left with nothing and they didn’t even acknowledge it. It took her months to find out what had happened. And that wasn’t the first time. I grew up on Menagerie, I saw a lot of people suffer because of that company. My friend was just the last straw. Little stories like that weren’t really the kind of thing Adam cared about, but I did and at the time he gave me more free reign.” 

“I’m sorry.” The words felt hollow on Weiss’s tongue. “I won’t defend it. I mean it when I say I didn’t know, but looking back it’s a hard to imagine how I didn't; it was all right there.”

The spattering of the flames mingled with Blake’s sigh. “I can believe that. It’s easy to see things clearly in retrospect; in the moment it’s often impossible not to be blinded. I know that all too well. So I can’t really judge you; I’ve done too many things I regret myself. Adam is a monster, but I couldn’t always see that. At first all I saw was his passion, his fight for justice. He was going to change the world, make things better for the faunus, enact real changes. I had that was all wrong. Making things better was never his true goal. He wants revenge against the humans, at any cost. Adam is looking to bring down one empire, just to create another one with him at the head. He's driven by spite and greed, not justice, and when I realized that I left. But I’m afraid it was too late; I followed blindly for too long.”

Blake’s face was hard and distant and Weiss could tell their mind was far away from the clearing. Uncertainty, she reached out a hand and set it lightly on top of theirs in a gesture she hoped was comforting. “It’s not that simple, Blake.” 

The faunus froze at the touch and Weiss regretted it immediately, but then they relaxed and a glance down at her hand seemed to pull them back into the moment. “Maybe not. But I still need to make it right. I know I told you that I’m not with either side and that’s true, but I want to be. Adam is leading the new White Fang right now, that’s what I left just before it split. I’m trying to go back to the group I joined in the beginning, that’s why I’m going to Vale. Everyone is so scattered right now, but from what I know going there is my best shot at finding members of the old White Fang to join up with. I don’t know how to make things right or if I even can but that’s the only way I can think to start. And I have to start.”

“As do I, whatever that means.” 

They looked up from her hand, finally meeting her gaze again. “It’ll be quite the adventure, I can tell you that.” Their exhausted smile matched Weiss’s and she gave their hand a light squeeze.

“Then an adventure it shall be.”


	3. Highways on the Houses of the Homesteads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a line from "The World Began in Eden and Ended in Los Angeles" by Phil Ochs

“Blake, you need to wake up.” The quiet hiss slipped through Blake’s dreams and their eyes snapped open, feline vision adjusting quickly to the light of dawn to bring Weiss’s face into focus above them. 

“What’s going on?” they muttered, one hand rubbing the sleep from their eyes while the other reached out for Gambol Shroud.

“Someone’s here, a whole group by the sounds of it.” That caught Blake’s attention enough to chase the last of the fogginess from their mind and they were on their feet in an instant.

“Where?” Weiss rose to join them and pointed out through the trees, roughly in the direction of Atlas. “Out that way. They’re quiet now but they were talking a few minutes ago.”

Blake studied the shadows, looking for any signs of movement. “How many would you say?”

“Four, five at the most?” 

“It could be anyone. New or old white fang, militia, stray citizens trying to flee. We shouldn’t take chances. Let’s just pack up quickly and quietly and head the other direction.”

Weiss nodded, already rolling up her bedroll. “Exactly as I was thinking.” 

The two of them had barely started out when an unseen voice called out, bringing them to a halt. “Stop right there.” 

A group of four emerged from the shadows ahead, coming to surround them in a semicircle. The girl at the front of the group couldn’t have been much older than either of them. She held a crossbow aimed directly at them, arrow primed and ready. 

It wasn’t the group Weiss had heard; a quick twist of Blake’s ears to the back caught the sound of additional footsteps approaching from behind. Weiss must have noticed it too and she stepped around to the side, covering Blake’s back.

Weiss spoke up from behind them, voice firm and commanding. “Put your weapons down. I’m quite certain Winter Schnee wouldn’t take to kindly to a lone militia group bringing harm to her sister.” 

The leader’s eyes narrowed but she made no move to lower her weapon. “And I’m supposed to just assume a stranger is telling the truth?” 

Blake couldn’t see her but the sound of Weiss unsheathing her rapier was unmistakable, as was the feeling of it slamming into the dirt at their feet. A shining disk of silvery white spread out from it, covering the ground all the way to the toes of the leader’s boots. When it touched them, ice crystals formed across the laces and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Recognize the family semblance?” Weiss asked.

The girl took a deep breath, finally lowering her weapon. “Yes. My apologies, Ms. Schnee.”

“Weiss is fine,” she said turning back around to join Blake and returning Myrtenaster to her waist. “And I well understand your need to be cautious. Your name?” 

“Octavia Ember. We’re all students from Shade Academy. After the school was evacuated they flew us out here, as close to Atlas as was safe. Our intention is to join the militia groups there. You know, I would have thought Winter would be there, not out here with you.”

“Winter remains in Atlas; I’m here alone, though I’m certainly more than capable of reaching her if need be.” Weiss was a good lier, something Blake took note of. 

Octavia nodded. “Are you are on your way to join her, then? You’re more than welcome to accompany us.”

“No,” Weiss seemed to be growing irritated with the girl’s insistence, her formal demeanor starting to slip. “Winter and I have different plans at the moment. I’m on my way to Vale.”

That caused the girl to raise an eyebrow. “With the faunus?”

There wasn’t a threat in the words, not exactly, but Blake’s fingers clenched into a fist at their side. Weiss’s eyes went hard and her hand went back to the hilt of Myrtenaster. “Yes. With Blake,” she said and those words did carry a threat, one that clearly registered with Octavia. She took a step back and bowed her head.

“Of course. I suppose we’ll be going then, unless there’s anything we can help you with first?” she gestured to the rest of her team. The others had come up to join them while they were talking

“Not that I can think of. Blake?” She turned to look at them and they shook her head. “We’re fine. I wish you well on journey.”

“As do I.” 

Blake and Weiss watched as the group disappeared from sight. Once they were out of earshot, Weiss let out a great sigh of relief. “Well, I suppose I should be grateful that wasn’t more unpleasant,” she paused, fiddling with the clasp of her bracelet, “I...I am sorry for how she addressed you.”

They shrugged dismissively. “That’s really nothing. As you said, it could have been a lot worse. I’ve had a lot worse.”

“Still,” she insisted. Blake simply nodded in acknowledgment and together they set out on their hike for the day. 

A comfortable silence followed them throughout most of the morning, as did the sun high overhead. It’s heat beat down upon them in a way that was just short of uncomfortable, but they made steady progress all the same. 

“So now that I’m officially joining you in Vale...what exactly was your plan for to get there once we reach the coast?” Weiss asked, trudging along a half-step behind Blake. 

“There’s a ship that sails from that coast down to Menagerie. Along the way it stops off at ports east of Vale and west of Mistral. Assuming it’s still running, getting aboard shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s going to be quite the long trip, Blake.”

They shrugged. “I didn’t expect for it to be quick.”

Weiss hummed. “May I perhaps suggest an alternative?”

“Gladly.”

“Transport planes for the Schnee Company fly out of those areas too, there’s actually one airport that’s just a little south of here. With my father dead, those pilots are undoubtedly searching for private work. I’m certain I could convince one to fly us directly to Vale.”

Blake looked over at her in surprise. “Really? That’d be fantastic. How far is it from here?”

“Well, I’d imagine we’ve come around twenty kilometers from Atlas, so...a week, perhaps? Assuming we don’t run into any trouble, of course.”

They laughed. “We should probably account for longer then, shouldn’t we? Seems that we attract trouble.” 

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Come on Blake, think happy thoughts.”

“You’re right. Remnant has fallen, a violent new version of the White Fang is attempting to take over and I’m preparing for a week long hike with the surprisingly gorgeous Weiss Schnee.” 

She blushed rapidly and stumbled over a rock. “Excuse me?”

Blake shrugged. “I’m practicing thinking on the bright side, did I do a good job?” She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers with an unconvincingly exasperated sigh. 

“I...I’ll take it.”

As it turned out, Weiss’s estimate was off for the better. The entire journey took just over five days and the morning of the sixth brought them to a town whose existence was clearly built around the local airport that sat across from the main road. At any other time it would have been a bustling place, but it was quiet when they arrived, almost eerily so, and Weiss didn’t even bother heading towards any of it’s empty buildings. Instead she made her way down the street, stopping outside a shop with a sign for the general store.

There were only two people inside, a man behind the counter fiddling with a display and a woman perusing the isle of canned goods. Weiss went up to the gentleman and the look he gave her was far from trusting.

“You’re not from here,” he told her, shoulders stiffening and a hand pressing flat to the counter.

“No, we’re just passing through. I’m from the Schnee company, we need a pilot who can take us out to Vale. For a price, of course.”

His eyes narrowed at her. “The Schnee planes aren’t running, missy.”

“I’m well aware, but I imagine there are a number of individuals looking for private work. I thought you might be able to direct us to one of them.”

It took him a while to consider her request but finally he sighed and pulled a notepad over, writing down a name. “One of the company’s top pilots has been hanging around the inn since the fall. He’ll probably be willing to take you; it won’t be cheap, though.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Weiss said smoothly, taking the slip of paper from his hand. She jerked her head at Blake and they followed her out of the shop. 

“Your plan is actually working out quite well so far,” they noted as she led them down the street, watching the signs for the inn. “Was that your expectation or are you winging it?”

A slight laugh huffed out between her lips. “Oh, I am most certainly winging it, my dear. Fortunately, that is something that has always gone well for me.”

Blake bit their tongue at Weiss’s choice of words, but chose not to comment on them. She halted them outside of what appeared to be the inn and pushed the door open. Only one person sat at a table in the main room, his clothes clearly those of a pilot. 

Weiss made her way over, taking a seat across from him. Blake lingered in the doorway, scanning the room. Something about the place put them on edge, made them watchful and far too unwillingly to have Weiss’s back turned without a set of eyes on it. Whatever deal she was striking didn’t take long; she was back on her feet within minutes, shaking the man’s hand and returning to Blake, satisfaction on her face. 

“We leave in two hours. Why don’t we find something to eat in the meanwhile?”

Landing in Vale was something of a relief after the desolate town they had just come from. It was clearly still populated and held at least a hint of normal activity. That wasn’t to say that the city was completely lacking in evidence of the chaos of the past two weeks. Their pilot had been somewhat hesitant to land, circling around several times before selecting an air strip off to the side to avoid any other planes on the ground. 

Once landed, much of the devastation was clear. Some of the government buildings were in shambles and the streets were devoid of their usually military guards. Instead, the doorways of a number of buildings had faunus stationed outside. Some of them wore the classic White Fang masks, others faces’ were simply shadowed by hoods. The people who were on the streets seemed hurried and tense; no one lingered. And, Blake noted after a moment, there wasn’t a single child to be seen. 

They sucked in a deep breath, looking over at their partner beside them. “So...what now?”

Weiss, who had seemed so confident up until that point, hesitated for the first time. “I...I’m not entirely sure, to be perfectly honest.”

Before Blake could respond, a swirl of red fabric slammed into the both of them. It was a girl, the youngest person Blake had yet to see. Her eyes were bright, bubbling with an excited joy that seemed out of place for the city, but somehow very appropriate for her.

“Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry!” she exclaimed, stumbling backwards and straightening her cape. 

“It’s quite alright,” Weiss said. While Blake was somewhat irritated, Weiss’s expression was soft and kind. “Pardon my intrusion, but you seem a little young to be out here alone, do you need any help?”

“No, no, I’m fine. My sister is here somewhere…” she glanced around absentmindedly, “Oh and I have this!” She whipped out an enormous red and black scythe, spinning it above her head fast enough to generate a small current of air. 

Blake’s hand immediately went to their shoulder, resting on Gambol Shroud’s hilt, apprehension settling over them in full. Weiss seemed to be just as startled, taking a step back and reaching a hand out towards the girl. 

“You...should probably put that away.”

“Ruby!” a voice sounded out from just down the street, “What are you doing?” 

The scythe disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, accompanied with a lighthearted laugh. An older, blonde girl joined them, hand on her hip. Ignoring the question, Ruby gestured out in introduction, “And here is my sister, as promised!”

Weiss slowly extended a hand. “Weiss.”

“Yang.” 

“Pleasure.”

All three looked to Blake, but they crossed their arms over the chest with no intention of joining in.

Yang returned her gaze to Weiss. “Sorry about my sister, she can be...a little bit excitable.” 

“No apology needed, I would simply be concerned about her safety given the current state of things and her age. We’re all a bit young to be in the midst of this along, quite frankly.”

Ruby rolled her eyes and Yang laughed. “You’ll find that Ruby is more than capable of taking care of herself. She got into Beacon two years early.” 

That clearly piqued Weiss’s interest. “Beacon? I’ve heard so much about the school. I...I was actually supposed to start there this year but, well, you know.”

Yang nodded, “Yeah, that’s why we’re here too, but we didn’t even make it to unpacking. A few of us are still there, doing some training and stuff. We’d like to help out when we can and it’s not like its all that easy to go home.” She paused, studying Weiss, “You know...you could probably come and join us if you’d like. You were practically a Beacon student anyways, right?”

A delighted smile spread across Weiss’s face. “I would love to!” A glance over at Blake dulled her joviality a bit. Their arms were still crossed, distrust clearly conveyed. “But...let me talk to Blake for a minute?” Weiss took them by a reluctant elbow and pulled them off to the side. 

Evening was starting to settle over them as they walked to the edge of a quiet alley between two shops. “Look,” Blake started, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I don’t want-”

Weiss stopped them with a hand on their arm. “Just listen to me, okay? I know you want to track down an old White Fang group to join and I get that, but that is easier said than done. It’s not a practical goal for tonight and our priority right now needs to be finding somewhere safe to spend the night. A group of Beacon students is likely to be one of our best options.”

They wanted to argue but couldn’t deny that what Weiss was saying made sense. “Fine,” they unclenched their arms, “but just for tonight. The Huntsman and Huntresses Beacon trained were never just for fighting Grimm; they were always intricately tied in with the governments and military. Beacon was infamous on Menagerie for rarely letting faunus in and the ones they did were always outcasts. As nice as those girls might seem, whatever allegiances they have are going to be to the militias and that is not what I came here for. You know that.”

“Fine,” Weiss agreed without hesitation, “but we stay until we find the group we’re really looking for, even if it means more than a night.”

Blake tapped their foot, considering Weiss’s point. “You’re right. We’ll stay. For now.” 

The smile quickly returned to Weiss’s face. “Good. Now let's go rest, I’m exhausted.”


End file.
